Warning: A following lullaby in this chapter may be ideologically sensitive to those who aren't a part of any Chrsitian faith. You have been warned. And I am sorry, I had to put something with the feels in here.

Steelmoon noticed the people behind her. She felt them coming from many leagues away. She had to find a place to be and ditch her equipment.

On her way through a pass, she ducked into yet another cave and hid in there. She threw her shield off and undressed from her assassin robes to the robes she can blend into this society with. She dashed out and leapt into the nearby village, where soothing music hung constantly in the air. She swiped a straw hat on the way past and placed it upon her head, allowing her to blend in.

She quickly sat down on a nearby bench, keeping her head lowered so that the straw hat covered her face. She saw four other animals run by five minutes later. Well, three were running and one was hitching a ride. They ran right past her, oblivious to her real purpose. When they were gone and she looked around to see if they have doubled back or are watching, Steelmoon stood up and made her way back to the cave when she left her equipment in.

When she made it back and her stuff was on, she opened the journal and read the juicy stuff on the first page. It was an eight year old's writing, occasional misspelt words and sloppy line work. When she flipped through the pages more, not reading the contents, Steelmoon saw that they were becoming more and more sophisticated, more befitting those with many decades of writing than with something just less than 20 years.

The pages soon became blank just before the 550th entry. It ended at 549. Steelmoon closed the book rather roughly and placed it within a pouch she keeps for incriminating evidence. She pulled her hood and face mask up then placed her shield on her right hand. Sensing no one, she dashed out and kept to the shadows of the exact same village, snaking her way through and coming out the other side unspotted. She continued running with next to no sound, constantly checking her surroundings.

Back at the Jade Palace:

Krynn was still sitting near her son's head, stroking the side in the same loving fashion as hours ago. Her voice was caught in her throat, her sobs having to be choked down.

She took a few deep breaths, trying to relax. She breathed in, but instead of another exhale, her voice came out singing with the voice of an angel.

October wings lament

Around the castle of Dromore

Yet peace is in her lofty halls,

My loving treasure store

Though autumn leaves may droop and die,

A bud of spring are you~.

Tears began to prick at the corners of her eyes. She had to hold back another sob, and she continued.

Dread spirits of all black water

Clan Owen's wild banshee

Bring no ill wind to him nor us,

My helpless babe and me~.

The tears have now begun to make streaks down her facial fur. She took many deep breaths to make sure that she didn't hiccup during this. Little did she know that Tigress and Romeo were now standing at the door, watching the scene unfold.

And Holy Mary pitying us

To Heaven for grace doth sue

Take time to thrive, my ray of hope,

In the garden of Dromore~.

Viper slithered up alongside the other two, a now dreamy look on her face.

Take heed, young eaglet, till thy wings

Are feathered fit to soar~

A little rest and then,

The world is full of work to do~.

A little rest and then,

She paused, seeing the three at the door. She smiled, although her tears indicated her grief. She looked back to Tiger, who was almost peaceful, if his face wasn't slightly contorted in pain.

The world is full of work to do~.

She finished Tiger's favourite lullaby when he was a child. The tears began to flow a lot more freely, and some even fell onto Tiger's forehead. Tiger began to breathe slightly more heavily, and began to cough. Romeo quickly ran up and turned Tiger to the side, allowing anything caught in the throat to pass up easier. When Tiger was done coughing, Romeo tried to pull him back, but decided otherwise and left him there. Krynn, unable to keep the sobbing back anymore, placed her face into her palms and sobbed into them. Tigress gently guided Krynn up and away from Tiger's room to get some fresh air.

Romeo stopped at the edge of the room and looked back to his possibly dying friend. "Don't die, my friend. The world would be a much darker place without a friend and family." He said, more to himself than to Tiger. With that, he left the room and kept the door open.

When she placed Krynn with Shifu, asking the kung fu master to help calm her, Tigress went along to the garden where she and Viper would partake in her daily meditation schedule. While it did suck that she can't do kung fu, it did become clear that doing so would mean harm to the baby. And so she agreed to this, and it was something that Po, her panda, supported with great enthusiasm.

But she can't concentrate. She was able to do so yesterday, but she can't now. And she knew the reason why. She was scared for Tiger. About whether her brother was going to survive or not.

Viper apparently caught wind of this and had to question.

"Is something bothering you, Ti? You seem distracted." Viper asked, stopping her own meditation.

Tigress growled. "It's nothing." She lied.

Viper easily saw right through it. Even a blind person could. "You're lying, and you know it, Ti. Come on, you can tell me." Viper pressed.

Tigress sighed heavily and looked at the dirt in front of her.

"It's about Tiger, isn't it?" Viper asked.

Tigress nodded solemnly.

"What about him?" Viper continued her barrage of questions.

"I feel like I barely know him. I don't know what he's done his entire life. He doesn't know what my life was like. And it's been two years since we met." Tigress explained, all in one go.

Viper slinked back, shocked at what Tigress has said.

"Maybe ask Krynn or Romeo for a part of Tiger's life they know. They could give you a bit of insight."

Tigress shook her head at that statement. Ask a person on another's life story? Stupid.

But, then again, she did do a whole lot of stupid actions two years ago. So maybe she should.

Steelmoon was dashing through the bamboo forests. They weren't what she was used to, although she was exposed to them once or twice. The trees were tall yet thin, the gaps easily seen through, yet it blinded her to all in the distance.

She felt like she was being watched.

She saw a roadblock made of sharpened logs and trunks in the distance. She only sped up, shrinking the distance between her and her destination quicker than before, and she only sped up more and more in response.

She saw the wolves that cowered behind the roadblock, crossbows ready to fire at her. She raised her shield for its original purpose. She heard the noticeable twang and kachunk of the crossbow firing, the air whistling as it was being split by the bolt, and the thunk of the bolts hitting the surface of the shield.

She only needed the smallest sliver of a sight to know how close she was to the roadblock. And she was close. Keeping her sweet momentum going, she placed her foot up onto a trunk and leapt up. She immediately inverted so she was looking down at the ugly wolves below her. She spun and landed on her feet behind the wolves.

They dropped their crossbows and drew their swords. Howling first, they charged her and more wolves leapt out of the forest and followed them. Steelmoon just stood there, her shield ready.

'Sowero mochi te, ookami-kun.' Steelmoon thought.

The first wolf that came in was unlucky enough to have his arm broken in a small blur of movement before being swiftly knocked out. The rest of the pack stopped their idiotic charge, instead adopting a more cautious approach and slowly encircling Steelmoon.

'I don't have time for this shiro chī.' Steelmoon thought once more.

She picked up the unconscious wolf and threw it into the crowd in front of her. When they tumbled, the assassin ran towards that gap and leapt over the group, landing on the other side of the barricade. She spied the flimsy ropes that held the barricade together. Using the shield rim, she cut the ropes that held them and kicked the logs so that they tumbled towards the wolves. It was extremely fluid, as if it was a dance.

When that was done, she threw a firecracker straight at the crowd and leapt into the dense forest. She dashed through, weaving her way through so that the wolves were out of sight. She then changed direction to the way she thought was where she was originally going. She came out the other side soon enough.

She looked skyward, now knowing that she was heading in the correct direction.

Towards where she landed. Gongmen City

She then dashed back up to speed once more. The contact isn't going to wait forever.

A ship landed at the docks of Gongmen City. And on the deck of the ship was a male raven in a kimono, a quiver of arrows on his lower back and a bow slung over his shoulder.

He has come here for a certain someone. And this has cost him his master in order to kill this certain someone for those he cared about.

He will find Mesuraion. And she will die for what she did to him.

Translations:

Sowero mochi te, ookami-kun: Bring it on, wolf-boy.

shiro chī: Idiocy